3/14 @ 8pm / Series: Comedy Death-Ray Michael Cera presents
Freebie And The Bean (SOLD OUT!!!!)
For March's CDR night, we welcome one of the most instantly recognizable (and instantly funny) actors of his generation: Michael Cera, whose turns in Superbad, Juno and Youth In Revolt have bumped John Cusack out of the top slot of nerd girl crushes everywhere. His film pick for the evening is a left-field choice from someone so sweet: the mayhem-packed, filthy-mouthed comedy Freebie and The Bean. Michael says: "Filled with car crash sequences, guns, yelling, transvestites and Alan Arkin, Freebie and the Bean has got to be the best buddy-cop film of 1974." It's a veritable "who's who" of '70s film awesomeness, starring James Caan and Alan Arkin, directed by Richard Rush (The Stunt Man, Getting Straight), co-written by Floyd Mutrux (Dusty And Sweets McGee) and shot by Laszlo Kovacs (Easy Rider)! Caan and Arkin are a pair of racist, homophobic and misogynist San Francisco supercops who think nothing of plowing cars into pedestrians, plugging suspects full of lead in toilet stalls and demolishing half the city's free-standing structures in order to nab the bad guy, in this gleefully anarchic ode to kicking ass first, and takin' names later.
Dir. Richard Rush, 1974, 35mm, 113 min.
Watch the trailer for "Freebie And The Bean"!
Tickets - SOLD OUT
3/16 @ 8:00pm MEMBERS ONLY SCREENING: The Quiet Earth shown with special secret sexy '70s film!
We're positively overflowing with potent post-apocalypse pictureplays this calendar; we just couldn't help ourselves, so we've got a bonus "last man on Earth" show for you. The Quiet Earth, New Zealand's stylish entry in the sub-genre, finds scientist Bruno Lawrence (whose top-secret project has sullied the fabric of the universe) waking up to find every other living thing wiped off the land. Remember in Dawn of the Dead, where the survivors help themselves to the shopping mall? Imagine that, but without the zombies -- times ten. Lawrence goes bonkers rummaging through society's remains, brandishing shotguns and declaring himself "President of the Earth" -- until he's sobered by the presence of a young woman and a violent Maori. Lawrence's bravura, realistic performance, veering from tenderness to total madness at the drop of a hat, is engaging throughout, helping make The Quiet Earth that rare sci-fi flick that keeps you equally entertained and intellectually satisfied, right through to its startling, ambiguous finale that's sure to burn in your mind for days afterwards. As an added bonus to this bonus screening, we'll also be tossing onto the screen a certain early '70s piece of cinematic sexytime afterwards. NOTE: you must be a current Cinefamily monthly membership to gain admission to this show -- and we'll have staff on-hand at the box office for you to re-up your lapsed membership, or sign up for a new one (hint-hint!) The Quiet Earth Dir. Geoff Murphy, 1985, 35mm, 91 min.
Watch the trailer for "The Quiet Earth"!
Tickets - first come, first serve (Cinefamily members only, each member gets a +1)
3/21 @ 8:00pm Small Change (Brand-new 35mm print!)
One of Francois Truffaut's most endearing labors of love, Small Change is one of those rare films that strikes dead the cynicism in any hardened heart. Filmed entirely in Thiers, a small town in the French countryside, the film presents an interconnected series of vignettes featuring one of the most vibrant child casts ever gathered, as the kids (ages 0 to 14) go to school, horse around, go to the movies, fall out of windows, care for (and rebel against) their parents and explore each other; as Truffaut himself said, "Our idea really is 'From the first bottle to the first kiss.'" The film's schoolbound world is the antithesis of the dour oppressiveness Truffaut paints in The 400 Blows, and the joyousness of the proceedings clearly wore off on the director, for Small Change is as innocent, buzzing and wide-eyed as childhood itself. We're thrilled to present Small Change in a gorgeous, newly-struck 35mm print! Dir. Francois Truffaut, 1976, 35mm, 104 min.
Watch the trailer for "Small Change"!
Tickets - $12
3/23 @ 8:00pm Harmony & Me
"The most creative works of art often come from heartache. In a way, that’s all we can hope for and from Harmony, a sullen young lyricist, as he pines for a woman who broke his heart with seemingly little remorse. Harmony finds solace in song, yet fails to find compassion from those around him: pathetic friends who drive minivans convince him that love is a vaguely pedophilic letdown, and self-serving coworkers show him that life is generally sadistic. Meanwhile, chewy frozen chocolate serves as a reminder that at times everything can be too grievous to handle. Austin-based filmmaker Bob Byington’s homegrown style transcends the piece's budgetary limitations, and his scripted esprit results in colorful, chaotic characters brought to life by Justin Rice, Kevin Corrigan, Pat Healy, and Kristen Tucker. These characters don’t merely mimic reality; they heighten the hilarity of a traumatic post-breakup, which in truth is probably just about as ridiculous in life as it is onscreen." (CineVegas) Director Bob Byington and co-star Nick Offerman ("Parks And Recreation") will appear live for a post-screening Q&A! Dir. Bob Byington, 2009, HDCAM, 75 min.
Watch the trailer for "Harmony & Me"!
Tickets - $12
3/28 @ 8:00pm Like A Phoenix From The Ashes: "Pomegranates" Record Release Party Co-presented by B-Music/Finders Keepers (with special thanks to Dublab)
Join us as we inaugurate the release of "Pomegranates", a compilation of Persian folk, funk, and psychedelia on the Finders Keepers record label, in a night also celebrating Norooz (the Persian New Year!) This spring-equinox-special will boast a psychedelic visual feast of ultra-rare and never-before-screened vintage film and video clips from '60s/'70s Iran, collaged and curated by Cinefamily's Tom Fitzgerald, and soundtracked with a Middle Eastern mash-up mix done by Finders Keepers founder Andy Votel. A fun celebration of drinks, catered Persian dinner and pastries, and artwork along with special guest B-Music DJs will preview and follow the film presentation!
We here at the Cinefamily simply can't get enough of insane backwoods psycho-thrillers; they always deliver heaps of tension, whacked senses of humor, uncomfortably maniacal sexuality and a good ol' bloodletting or two. The Name Of The Game Is Kill is one of the rarest and coolest of all late' 60s "Southern Discomfort" films, starring Jack Lord ("Hawaii Five-O") as transient Hungarian émigré Symcha, who's picked up by mysterious beauty Mickey (Susan Strasberg, The Trip), outside a semi-deserted town. Nothing unusual abounds for, oh, about two minutes or so, until she takes him back to her family's decaying gas station to snare him in a murderous web of lust and deceit alongside her balmy sisters -- and their estranged mother. Loosely inspired by screenwriter Gary Crutcher's own experiences, the film contains "moments of Bava-like brilliance" (Joe Dante!, Castle Of Frankenstein), deft camerawork by a young Vilmos Zsigmond, a haunting score by Stu Phillips, and a creepy twist ending for the ages! Gary Crutcher, Vilmos Zsigmond and Stu Phillips will all be here at the Cinefamily for a post-film Q&A, and the first 100 ticketholders will receive a free The Name of The Game Is Kill prize pack!
Dir. Gunnar Hellström, 1968, 35mm, 84 min. (Restored 35mm print courtesy of The George Eastman House)
Watch the trailer for "The Name Of The Game Is Kill"!
Tickets - $12
4/1 @ 8:00pm Out Of Our Minds (A New Film from Melissa Auf der Maur!) Presented by Filter Magazine
"In only 28 minutes, the spectacle of this film toppled almost all of the features I saw in Park City combined...crazy ambitious...[a]nd it was a solar-powered production to boot!" - Michael Tully, Indiewire
Out Of Our Minds is the bloody, brash and berserk new brainchild of Melissa Auf der Maur, member of both Hole and Smashing Pumpkins! This half-hour short film, a companion piece to her second solo album of the same name, covers three time periods, all connected by a single mythological quest: the Hunt for the Heart. We follow Melissa in a strange ritual that climaxes in a collision between past and future, crashing through the gateway to parallel worlds in the same forest -- a fantasy realm where a Viking heart, a car crash and a bleeding forest connect. With no dialogue, the film instead uses the pulsing music of both Auf der Maur and The Entrance Band to tell a universal tale in striking optics. Directed by Tony Stone (Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America), this mini-epic is proudly self-produced, and shot entirely using solar power!
Watch the trailer for "Out Of Our Minds"!
Tickets - free admission (first come, first serve)
4/2 @ 8:00pm RoboCop-A-Thon!: RoboCop shown with RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3
What's better than a dystopian future cyborg policeman movie? Three dystopian future cyborg policeman movies, of course! Paul Verhoeven's massive 1987 hit RoboCop is still, over twenty years later, the gold standard for savage satirical sci-fi, with its mixture of murderous robots, extreme gore, an iconic 'n metallic vengeful hero, bullet ballets, outlandish commercial parodies, hideous corporate caricatures and a toxic waste mishap to end all toxic waste mishaps. And what cooler way could there be to present this classic, than with the entire franchise trilogy on 35mm! We'll take you through the dizzying heights of Verhoven's original, to the strange and seedy Frank Miller-penned follow-up directed by Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back), and and finally we'll wrap it all up with the re-cast, jet-packed and ninja-fied final entry directed by Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad). That's more stomping killing machines, scummy creeps and exploding limbs than should be allowed by law! He may be monotone and monochrome, but there's never been a cop like ROBOCOP! RoboCop Dir. Paul Verhoeven, 1987, 35mm, 103 min. RoboCop 2 Dir. Irvin Kershner, 1990, 35mm, 117 min. RoboCop 3 Dir. Fred Dekker, 1993, 35mm, 104 min.
Watch the trailer for "RoboCop"!
Watch the trailer for "RoboCop 2"!
Watch the trailer for "RoboCop 3"!
Tickets - $12
4/4 @ 8:00pm King of Kings (w/ live score by Dios Malos)
Description coming soon...
Watch the trailer for "King of Kings"!
Tickets - $12
4/6 @ 8:00pm / Series: Jerry Beck's Animation Tuesdays Jerry Beck's Animation Tuesdays: Cartoon Fight Club
We’re going twelve rounds with an all-star championship card that pits against each other the toughest dudes, buffest bears and most macho mice, with epic matches in the ring, around the garden and all over the house. Cartoon historian Jerry Beck has compiled the most barbaric battles in hand-drawn animation to satisfy your testosterone-pumped, frothing-at-the-mouth bloodlust: Tom vs. Jerry, Popeye vs. Bluto, and Duck vs Fudd. Get pumped for the kind of headbanging, eye-bulging entertainment they don’t show on TV anymore; with rare 35mm and 16mm film prints (including several in Technicolor), this show will bonk your head, bash your bones and bodyslam you into next week! And remember the first rule of Cartoon Fight Club -- tell everyone about Cartoon Fight Club on April 6th.
Our third show in the ongoing Blast Phemy! series features outstanding musical soloists performing new, cutting-edge works seamlessly melded with a spectrum of media styles, including video montage, 3D animation and multi-projector 8mm film! We've got a collaboration between 8mm gunslinger Rick Bahto (who's exhibited at venues like MoMA, the San Francisco Cinematheque and Director's Lounge in Berlin) and composer/performer Luciano Chessa (who's an expert at both the Vietnamese dan bau and the musical saw.) Another of the evening's collaborations is a meeting of the minds between video artist Anne Bray and postminimalist composer Eve Beglarian, with a live performance by harpist Susie Allen -- and finally, we also have a live collision between animation and banjo(!), delivered by psychedelic specialist Jim Ovelmen.
Tickets - $13
4/24 @ 7:30pm Celestial Navigations: The Short Films Of Al Jarnow Co-presented by Cinespia
As we curled up on our couches in the early morning, with bowls of Sugar Pops at our feet, filmmaker Al Jarnow touched our lives and changed the way we look at the world without us ever knowing. Jarnow presented the world of secret mathematics, sacred geometries and life's scientific minutiae with such clarity and beauty that the child watching his works on Sesame Street could derive almost the same pleasure as the beatnik experimental film buff viewing them at New York's Anthology Film Archives -- for Jarnow's films played in both places! Coupling time-lapse, stop motion, and cel animation with simple found objects from everyday life, Jarnow deconstructed the world for an entire generation with his timeless shorts which, thirty years later, have lost none of their vitality or impact. Come celebrate with us this visionary artist, as we present a full program of his most astounding films, as well as the new documentary short Asymmetric Cycles, which details Al's entire creative process. Al Jarnow will be here at the Cinefamily in-person for a Q&A after the show!
Watch the trailer for "The Short Films of Al Jarnow"!
Description coming soon...
Dir. Sydney Pollack, 1982, 35mm, 116 min.
Watch the trailer for "Tootsie"!
Tickets - $14
5/4 @ 8:00pm / Series: Jerry Beck's Animation Tuesdays Jerry Beck's Animation Tuesdays: Toons In Drag Co-presented by Outfest
From the days of Shakespeare through to the days of vaudeville, silent movies and beyond, cross-dressing has passed into the mainstream as a safe, well-worn comedy staple; think Milton Berle, Flip Wilson, the Kids In The Hall or Eddie Izzard. Whenever our beloved cartoon characters get into the act, however, it all starts to get a little nuttier, and dare we say -- hotter? Confused, are you? Then this special program, compiled by animation historian Jerry Beck, will certainly set you straight. Or gay. Or somewhere in-between! Come for clips of your favorite toon stars cavorting as members of the opposite sex, alongside historic depictions of "swishy" characters and complete shorts on 35mm and 16mm featuring classic moments of animated role reversal.
5/15 @ 10:30pm Jack Stevenson presents Movies With Roots In Hell: The Effects Of Drugs On American Cinema
Film collector and author Jack Stevenson ("Fleshpot", "Land of a Thousand Balconies: Discoveries and Confessions of a B-Movie Archaeologist") has presented programs of rare and cool vintage films throughout Europe and in America, at venues as diverse as the Warhol Museum in Pittsburg, the Yerba Buena in SF and at his cinema in Copenhagen, Denmark -- and we're thrilled to have him back at The Cinefamily for another round of picks from his personal archive of 16mm and 35mm prints, in a visit that coincides with the publication of his brand-new tome "Scandinavian Blue: The Erotic Cinema of Sweden and Denmark in the 1960s and 1970s!"
Experience sixty hair-raising years of sin and sensation in this substance-fueled retrospective, with clips spanning from the stoned Seventies all the way back to the totaled Teens! From the giddy silent-era cocaine slapstick of Mystery of the Leaping Fish to the ultra-bizarre early-'30s song performance Sweet Marijuana, from the preachy mid-50's invective of The Pusher to the psychedelic excess of the 1968 NYC scene report Rockflow and the '70s drug paranoia classics The People Next Door and Blue Sunshine, "Movies With Roots in Hell" samples every era via a selection of shorts, trailers and outtakes, all curated by legendary film archivist Jack Stevenson. Come see how preachers, educators, entertainers, fear-mongers and hippies used drugs to entertain, titillate, scare and celebrate the experience of mind alteration.
Watch Gertrude Michael sing "Sweet Marijuana", from "Murder At The Vanities" (1934)!
Tickets - $12
5/16 @ 8:00pm Jack Stevenson presents: Venom
Part of the tradition of Danish sex films that helped break down the barriers of censorship, Venom (aka Gift) is the lurid story of Per, a pompous young man who preaches the gospel of the flesh to his new girlfriend and her stuffy upper-class family. Having seduced the girl into taking part in his porny home movies, Per, in a haze of hash smoke and amoral philosophical rants, aims to provoke her bourgeois parents by showing them the smut and shaming them into oblivion. Originally intended as a a heated polemic against pornography and the looming wave of society's unbridled hedonism, Venom ironically helped pave the way for precisely the excesses it preached against -- and in an ultra-rare Los Angeles 35mm screening, now you can see the film that originally sent Danish authorities into apoplexy, and led to the abolishment of its country's film censorship in 1969. Largely forgotten today, Venom is an overlooked treasure from a moment in time when Denmark transformed from a isolated backwater into the most liberal society on the face of the earth. Film curator Jack Stevenson will also present a selection of sexy Scandinavian shorts before the feature! Dir. Knud Leif Thomsen, 1966, 35mm, 96 min.
Tickets - $12
5/24 @ 8pm / Series: Comedy Death-Ray Comedy Death-Ray: Doug Benson presents
Friday the 13th Part 3 (w/ live commentary!)
Description coming soon...
Dir. Steve Miner, 1982, 35mm, 95 min.
Watch the trailer for "Friday the 13th Part 3"!
Tickets - $14
5/26 @ 8:00pm Blast Phemy! 5 (feat. live film scores by Lucky Dragons) Co-presented by NewTown and Los Angeles Filmforum
Description coming soon...
Tickets - $13
5/31 @ 6:00pm The 5 Minutes Game: Memorial Day Edition
Summer's around the corner, and you know how the Cinefamily loves to usher in the new season: by busting out the patio grill, and playing The Five Minutes Game. What's all this about a game, you ask? We're firm believers in the concept of "every movie is interesting for at least its first five minutes": those fascinating moments when you're still entering the new world a film presents you, and trying to figure out what the hell's going on in it. What we're gonna do is choose fifteen movies you've likely never seen before (with most, if not all of them unavailable on DVD), line 'em up, and show you only the first five minutes of each (not counting their opening credits.) After that, you, the audience, gets to vote on which film out of the fifteen we all then watch in its entirety. So, bring something to cook on our grill, and let's get started!
Michael Cera presents
MEMBERS ONLY SCREENING:
Small Change
Harmony & Me
Like A Phoenix From The Ashes:
The Name Of The Game Is Kill
Out Of Our Minds
RoboCop-A-Thon!:
King of Kings
Jerry Beck's Animation Tuesdays:
Blast Phemy! 3
Celestial Navigations:
Comedy Death-Ray:
Jerry Beck's Animation Tuesdays:
Jack Stevenson presents
Jack Stevenson presents:
Comedy Death-Ray: Doug Benson presents
The 5 Minutes Game: Memorial Day Edition
